Ageing
by AElf
Summary: Angelina (Remember her? One of the Gryffindor Chasers) and Fred get in a bit of trouble.
1. Tears

Disclaimer: I do not own any of J. K. Rowling's characters or ideas. You get the point by now (I hope)  
  
***  
  
Tears  
  
It was five in the morning and any decent person should have been asleep, yet two figures left the Gryffindor common room, disturbing a sleepy portrait. Both girls were wearing long white nightgowns, one had her witch's robes draped over her shoulders. She was crying hysterically and, being supported by her friend, making slow progress towards the hospital wing.  
  
As they approached the door to Mme. Pomfry's office, an older woman come bustling out in robes that had hastily been thrown on and gathered the crying girl into an embrace. As she motioned the friend, a young woman really, in her last year at Hogwarts, into her office, she murmured to her patient. She led the exhausted girl into the sick bay and settled her into one of the beds, making sure she was all right before returning to the office.  
  
"I...I found her like this ma'am. She was rocking back and forth on the floor, crying." Explained the girl.  
  
"That's fine Alicia," Mme. Pomfry addressed the girl as she finished mixing a sleeping draught, "what she needs now is rest, and do you. Get back to bed, you still have two hours before you need to be up."  
  
Alicia left and Mme. Pomfry returned to Angelina. She helped her to sit up and rested the cup against her lips.  
  
"Drink" she whispered. Then waited for Angelina to fall into a dreamless sleep before getting ready for the day. 


	2. Revelations

Disclaimer: I do not own any of J. K. Rowling's characters or ideas. You get the point by now (I hope)  
  
***  
  
Revelations...  
  
Angelina woke again around nine, Mme. Pomfry, who had predicted this, was nearby and came to sit beside her, absent-mindedly stroking her hair.  
  
"What's the matter child?" she asked, "Boy troubles? You don't seem the type to come crying to me if Fred broke up with you." Angelina bit back sobs, but the tears still came, salty rivulets streaming down her cheeks.  
  
"It's not that." She wavered, fighting to keep her voice steady, "It's much worse." Mme. Pomfry responded by brushing the tears off her face. She waited patiently, knowing all would be revealed in good time. "I think, I'm pregnant" Angelica sobbed, her voice cracking. Her body shook each time a sob escaped, and Mme. Pomfry enveloped her in a mother's hug.  
  
Mme. Pomfry stayed beside her, comforting her, stroking her tangled hair, until she fell into a natural sleep. 


	3. and Explinations

Disclaimer: I do not own any of J. K. Rowling's characters or ideas. You get the point by now (I hope)  
  
***  
  
...and Explanations  
  
At lunch break, Alicia, Katie, Fred, George and Lee bustled into the sick bay, and were soon shooed back out by Mme. Pomfry. "It's nice to see she has friends who care about her. Now out!" she buzzed, waving her arms at them. "What she needs now is quiet. I assure you she will be up and about by tomorrow." The five left with the impression she had some 24-hour bug and would be fine. But privately Alicia thought otherwise, after seeing her friend in such a traumatic state the night before.  
  
Angelina woke around dinnertime and managed to eat a little bit of toast, but her throat felt closed and it hurt to swallow. She and Mme. Pomfry talked for a bit. The teacher explained the ________ Charm, which prevents pregnancy, and Angelina told how her mother had been killed when she was little, not yet two years, a random victim of the Death Eaters. She explained how she had been raised by a devastated father and an older brother who just wanted to leave the house.  
  
Many times she had to stop and cry, but Mme. Pomfry was always there, a solid pillar in which she confided. She told of how she had made a home at school, how she had met Fred. How he had made her laugh, how happy he always was, she would never want to hurt him. She cried as she said this.  
  
"This will wreck him. We're not old enough for the responsibility of having a child." She buried her head in Mme. Pomfry's shoulder, "I don't know how I'm going to tell him." 


	4. Rain

Disclaimer: I do not own any of J. K. Rowling's characters or ideas. You get the point by now (I hope)  
  
***  
  
Rain  
  
I let the water run over my body, let it soak into my skin. The spray was on hard and the force of which the water hit me reminded me of the unexpected blow I would later deliver to Fred.  
  
Unwillingly.  
  
It would ruin him. He just wanted to leave school and open a joke shop. He wanted to make people laugh. He was so youthful, always joking and fooling about. He would be so changed after this.  
  
I could already feel myself changing, hardening, growing older.  
  
The blow would be sharp and painful. One moment he would be a carefree boy, gliding through his last year of school, the next, a young man with a family to support.  
  
Unprepared to face the future, I retreated back under the curtain of water, abandoning my thoughts.  
  
Some time later, I reluctantly stepped out of the shower, into the freezing January air. 


End file.
